Sermon
3rd Sunday in Lent
March 14-15, 2009
Text: John 2:13-22
Dear Friends in Christ,
"Maccabeaus and his companions, under the Lord's guidance, restored the Temple and the city, and pulled down the altars erected by the foreigners in the market place, as well as the shrines. They purified the sanctuary and built another altar; then, striking fire from flints and using this fire, they offered the first sacrifice for two years, burning incense, lighting the lamps and setting the out the loaves. When they had done this, prostrating themselves on the ground, they implored the Lord never again to let them fall into such adversity, but if they should ever sin, to correct them with moderation and not to deliver them over to blasphemous and barbarous nations. This day of the purification of the Temple fell on the very day on which the Temple had been profaned by the foreigners, the twenty-fifth of the same month, Chislev. They kept the eight festal days with rejoicing, in the manner of the feast of Booths, remembering how, not long before, at the time of the feast of booths, they been living in the mountains and caverns like wild beasts. Then, carrying leafy boughs and palms, they offered hymns to Him who had brought the cleansing of His own Holy Place to a happy outcome. They also decreed by public edict, ratified by vote, that the whole Jewish nation should celebrate those same days every year." Thus we read in the tenth chapter of the second book of Macabees of the events that happened in December the year 164 B.C.
It is then indeed ironic to read about another cleansing of this same temple about 200 years later. This is especially ironic when we realize that Christ cleansed the temple not once but twice. Once at the beginning of His ministry as recorded in our text, but also at the end His ministry as recorded in the other Gospels. How had things degenerated from the zeal and Purity of Judas Macabees to the market place that Christ found in Jerusalem in 30 A.D? First we must remember that this is the natural course of things. Just look at a typical sporting event. Any place where people travel to in significant numbers will also attract entrepreneurs of all sorts, legal, and otherwise. Secondly it was very difficult to bring animals for sacrifice, it was much easier to simply buy them in Jerusalem. In addition to this, the common currency of the time had the image of Caesar imprinted on it - a graven image. This meant that all donations to the temple had to be made in special "temple" currency. So it was that you had quite a thriving trade in money changing in the temple precincts. Why did the people in charge of the temple allow this to go on? The leadership at this time was vested in the
person of the High Priest Joseph Caiaphous. Caiaphous and his clan were notoriously corrupt. Simply put, they were getting a piece of the action - it was a profitable arrangement. So it was that Christ found the temple converted from throne room of God to a common flea market, with all the corruption and dishonesty that such places bring.
This situation was intolerable. Christ could not allow this to continue. He made a whip and drove them out of the temple courts. He overturned the money changers' tables. There was pandemonium everywhere. The people scrambling to pick up the scattered money. Animals running about and vendors desperately trying to recover what little they could of their property. This is how Christ could accomplish this without having to resort to using His miraculous powers. In the confusion no one could get to Him until the deed was done. Just ask the police how hard it is to find someone in the middle of a riot.
Now this might not have seemed like a very Christ like thing to do. Normally we put people who incite a riot in jail. So what was Christ's justification for doing this. First off, we must remember whose house this was happening in. The Temple was the throne room of God upon the earth. Simply put, it belonged to Christ. It was His house. These people were trespassing upon His property reserved for the worship of Jesus Christ. If someone was hawking souvenirs in your front yard, I think that we would also consider it acceptable to throw such people out.
Why is it that the Temple police did not arrest Christ when thy finally caught up with Him? The actions of Christ would have been very popular with the common people. To arrest Him in public would cause an even bigger riot. This would be reported to Rome and a new High Priest might be named. Also, in the confusion there may not have been any witnesses who could really say what had happened - a case where everyone knows what happened, but it could not be proven in court. They do ask Christ some questions however. They ask what manner of authority He has that He can do this. They were asking in essence that He prove that He was a prophet. If they could show Him as a false prophet, the crowd would turn against Him and they could arrest Him on charges of blasphemy. The answer that He gave them was that He would rise from the dead on the third day. The Jews played dumb, but they knew that He was not referring to the building of the Temple but to the Temple of His body. This is evident by their actions later, when they placed a guard at His tomb. But true to His word, this prophecy did come true. Jesus Christ did rise from the dead. What of the building of the Temple? Forty years later, the Roman general Titus Flavious Vespation Minor leveled it along the whole city of Jerusalem. The Temple was no longer needed. It was part of the world of sin. Our sin was what made the walls and curtains necessary. But now, the throne of God upon the earth is found in the Body and Blood given and shed for you. There is no more need for walls and curtains to separate us from the all consuming Holy presence of God. In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we are declared Holy and sinless. We are now forever invited into the Holy presence where we find not our judge, but upon the throne we see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The only Temple we really need is the Body of Jesus Christ, which He Himself has invited us to partake in the Holy Supper. We could say that in His death Christ really did tear down the old Temple and raise up a new Temple. The old Temple was just there to point us to the greater Temple found in Christ - the Temple that is a living Temple and a life giving Temple. This Temple will last forever and can never be brought down.
The House of God. This term has meant many things to many people at various times. It has referred to buildings and shelters. But the truth is that the real House of God is wherever God is present in grace. In these gray and latter days, as they are often called, we also have a great blessing. We know that wherever His Word is preached and His sacraments are administered, wherever sins are confessed and the absolution is pronounced, there in that place, Christ is present upon His throne of grace. This is certain, as certain as the raising of the Temple of the Body of Christ from dead.
Amen!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Sermon for March 10-11
Sermon
The Third Midweek in Lent
March 10-11, 2009
Text: Exodus 20:13
Dear Friends in Christ,
Four short words. It doesn’t seem like much. You shall not murder, or as you may have learned it, you shall not kill. The Hebrew word used here is Ratzah. Like all Hebrew verbs, this word has a couple hundred forms. As you take it through the forms, you get the shades of meaning. So literally from the Hebrew - you shall not kill intensely. In good in English - you shall not murder.
Human life has a special place in God’s creation. Human beings are created in the image of God. They are thus protected. We are not given the right to take human life. What about animal life. Do we have a right to take animal life? Yes, but not wantonly. In Genesis 9 we read: “The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” (Genesis 9:2-6) Here God distinguishes between animals and man. We can kill animals for food and other reasonable purposes, such as clothing and medicine. They are in our hands. But we are also to be stewards of all that is in the earth, including the animals.
Notice one other thing that God says - “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed...” God allows for capital punishment, soldiers acting in time of war, police acting in the line of duty, self defense and the like. Violence falls upon the violent. And yes this retribution - that is vengeance. But these things are never carried out privately. It is only when one is acting in the name of society that they can do this. I cannot carry out an execution. But an executioner, properly authorized by the civil authorities, does a good and godly thing when he takes the lives of those placed in his hands.
Likewise we must understand the length of this protection. It goes from conception to natural death. Thus the Church from its earliest days rejected abortion and infanticide, even though these were common practices of the day. In our day, Dr. George Tiller, is one of the most infamous abortion doctors in the nation. He was once a member of an LCMS congregation. He was excommunicated because he was unwilling to repent of this gross evil. Sadly, he was received by an ELCA congregation. So instead of getting the clear message that he needs to repent, Dr. Tiller is being told by false prophets that he can go on sinning. The judgement will fall hard not only upon Dr. Tiller, for his unrepentance, but also upon those false prophets who are condoning his sin.
Likewise on the other end of life. We are not to do anything to shorten life. All basic care must be provided until that time when God ends the life. The early Christians were so possessed of this idea that at least basic medical care must be provided to all, that they did something that had never been done in the history of the world. They built a new kind of institution. It was an institution that the pagan world could not comprehend. It was called a hospital. There were physicians before there were Christians, but they generally only served the very rich and powerful. Christians look at a person and see the image of God. Though it might be obscured and covered over, it’s still there. There is a person created in the image of God. Therefore we must provide for their physical well being, if they cannot.
As always, our views on life and its sacredness start in our hearts. As Christ explains, if we hate our brother, we are a murderer. It is from the heart that all evil proceeds. So also our obedience. It must start with our hearts. Shaping our hearts into the form of Christ, starts with our own repentance. We start by repenting of all the times and all the ways in which we failed to value life as we ought. Then from the foundation of repentance we start to rebuild our hearts and our thinking. And from our repentant hearts also comes a desire to follow God’s will for life.
You shall not murder. It seems so short. There doesn’t seem like anything is there. And of course we’re not mafia torpedoes from Detroit, what do we have to worry about? We’re not going around killing people. But do we value life, from conception until natural death. Do we understand that each human being is created in the image of God and therefore it is not for us to trifle with. In fact, just the opposite, we are to protect life, defend life, and uphold life. As in all the commandments, we fail to do this as we ought. We do not always uphold life. So in this the commandment shows us our sins. It drives us to the cross. For only in the death of Christ, is life, as God intends, upheld.
Amen!
The Third Midweek in Lent
March 10-11, 2009
Text: Exodus 20:13
Dear Friends in Christ,
Four short words. It doesn’t seem like much. You shall not murder, or as you may have learned it, you shall not kill. The Hebrew word used here is Ratzah. Like all Hebrew verbs, this word has a couple hundred forms. As you take it through the forms, you get the shades of meaning. So literally from the Hebrew - you shall not kill intensely. In good in English - you shall not murder.
Human life has a special place in God’s creation. Human beings are created in the image of God. They are thus protected. We are not given the right to take human life. What about animal life. Do we have a right to take animal life? Yes, but not wantonly. In Genesis 9 we read: “The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” (Genesis 9:2-6) Here God distinguishes between animals and man. We can kill animals for food and other reasonable purposes, such as clothing and medicine. They are in our hands. But we are also to be stewards of all that is in the earth, including the animals.
Notice one other thing that God says - “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed...” God allows for capital punishment, soldiers acting in time of war, police acting in the line of duty, self defense and the like. Violence falls upon the violent. And yes this retribution - that is vengeance. But these things are never carried out privately. It is only when one is acting in the name of society that they can do this. I cannot carry out an execution. But an executioner, properly authorized by the civil authorities, does a good and godly thing when he takes the lives of those placed in his hands.
Likewise we must understand the length of this protection. It goes from conception to natural death. Thus the Church from its earliest days rejected abortion and infanticide, even though these were common practices of the day. In our day, Dr. George Tiller, is one of the most infamous abortion doctors in the nation. He was once a member of an LCMS congregation. He was excommunicated because he was unwilling to repent of this gross evil. Sadly, he was received by an ELCA congregation. So instead of getting the clear message that he needs to repent, Dr. Tiller is being told by false prophets that he can go on sinning. The judgement will fall hard not only upon Dr. Tiller, for his unrepentance, but also upon those false prophets who are condoning his sin.
Likewise on the other end of life. We are not to do anything to shorten life. All basic care must be provided until that time when God ends the life. The early Christians were so possessed of this idea that at least basic medical care must be provided to all, that they did something that had never been done in the history of the world. They built a new kind of institution. It was an institution that the pagan world could not comprehend. It was called a hospital. There were physicians before there were Christians, but they generally only served the very rich and powerful. Christians look at a person and see the image of God. Though it might be obscured and covered over, it’s still there. There is a person created in the image of God. Therefore we must provide for their physical well being, if they cannot.
As always, our views on life and its sacredness start in our hearts. As Christ explains, if we hate our brother, we are a murderer. It is from the heart that all evil proceeds. So also our obedience. It must start with our hearts. Shaping our hearts into the form of Christ, starts with our own repentance. We start by repenting of all the times and all the ways in which we failed to value life as we ought. Then from the foundation of repentance we start to rebuild our hearts and our thinking. And from our repentant hearts also comes a desire to follow God’s will for life.
You shall not murder. It seems so short. There doesn’t seem like anything is there. And of course we’re not mafia torpedoes from Detroit, what do we have to worry about? We’re not going around killing people. But do we value life, from conception until natural death. Do we understand that each human being is created in the image of God and therefore it is not for us to trifle with. In fact, just the opposite, we are to protect life, defend life, and uphold life. As in all the commandments, we fail to do this as we ought. We do not always uphold life. So in this the commandment shows us our sins. It drives us to the cross. For only in the death of Christ, is life, as God intends, upheld.
Amen!
Sermon for March 7-8
Sermon
The Second Sunday in Lent
March 7-8, 2009
Text: Mark 8:27-38
Dear Friends in Christ,
One of the most important skills for a pilot in war time is enemy identification. Pilots would spend hours memorizing the shape and appearance of enemy aircraft and ships. My father, as a student during World War II, had to memorize the silhouette books of enemy aircraft, just as part of his civil defense training. Often times, such identification was about remembering little details. An American aircraft might look just like an enemy aircraft, except for the shape of the tail or tip of the wing, or some such thing. What would happen if a pilot couldn’t correctly identify the enemy? He might shoot at the his own aircraft or ships or he might not shoot at the enemy. Both are equally problematic.
Identifying friend and foe are equally important in matters of religion. Many people turned away from Christ. They said He was a devil or possessed of a devil. Many were offended by the fact that He poked fun at the Pharisees. Yet, when Christ confronted the disciples how did they answer? They pointed to those believed that He was indeed from God. Christ pressed them and Peter, answering for the twelve stated that He was the Christ, God’s anointed One. By this Peter was saying that Jesus was the One promised in the Old Testament. But this does not mean that Peter understood the Old Testament. In fact we see this clearly, in the verses that follow. Christ speaks of His suffering. This was already laid out in Isaiah 52-53 where there is a long discourse on the suffering of the Christ. We might recall: “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” But Peter, apparently didn’t make the connection. So when Christ speaks of how He will fulfill these words of Isaiah, Peter is offended. And we can safely assume that he was not alone in this. Peter objects to a suffering Christ. Christ tells him: Get behind Me Satan.
Many today have trouble with a suffering Christ. Atheist Richard Dawkins, calls the concept of God the Son being sent by God the Father to die for the sins of the world, divine child abuse. Even many within the Church have trouble with a suffering Christ. Why are there so many preachers of self righteousness? Because if we can earn own way into heaven, we don’t have to talk about a suffering Christ. You see, Christ’s suffering convicts us. If Christ had to suffer, then we must be sinners. The whole movement of popular evangelicalism and contemporary worship is all about not talking about sin, death and a suffering Christ. The Christ that they would make up is on one hand a new Moses, giving a new and greater law, which we must fulfill. On the other, He is spineless mush and doesn’t condemn anyone. The suffering Christ is anathema to them.
But what happens in our Baptism? Precisely what St. Paul says, we are baptized into the death of Jesus Christ. We are united to His suffering. Even though this is plainly taught by St. Paul in Romans 6, most American Christians miss this point and thus also reject it. The whole point of making Baptism about our obedience, as most American Christians do, is to avoid a suffering Jesus.
Why do some Christians object to the Crucifix? We might hear things like Christ is risen, He’s no longer on the cross. But that’s not the real reason. The real reason is that the crucifix confronts us with a suffering Christ, a Christ Who died for us. In this way the crucifix convicts us of our sins. For if we had not sinned, Christ wouldn’t have had to suffer death on the cross.
So how do we know we have the right Christ? We have correctly identified the right Christ, when we are looking upon the One who suffers and dies. It’s that simple. That’s our key to identifying Christ. When people come to you and show a Christ who isn’t first and foremost the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, they are showing you a false Christ. For the true Christ is One who suffers.
Today we have a continuation of the old Jewish heresy. The Jews believed in a messiah who would come and trash their enemies. It’s really the same messianic vision that the Muslim’s have today. But many Christians buy into this as well, with all this talk of Christ establishing a kingdom here on earth and the like. We see this laid out in things like the “Left Behind” books. But then Christ’s death would be a mistake - not the center of all time. Rather, what Scripture tells us is that Christ rules forever already. He has no need of an earthly kingdom. In fact the nations of this earth rise and fall at His speaking. There is no authority upon this earth apart from what Christ gives. Christ gives that authority to men to bless or to punish, as He sees fit in His eternal wisdom. So we might say, why would Christ give authority to Sadam Hussain? Christ often uses evil men to punish evil. Notice in turn how such men are themselves brought down. So if Christ establishes the earthly governments, then He already rules this earth and has no need to come back to rule. Rather, we know from scripture that Christ will return to call this world to it’s end.
When we get to heaven, how will we know Christ? He’ll be the glorious one, right? Well, everyone heaven will shine with glory. No, we will know Christ because He’s one with wounds. And for us who see Christ as the suffering One, those wounds are the most beautiful thing in all of heaven. Because we know that by those wounds, we are healed of sin and death.
It is crucial for us to be able to correctly identify Christ. Many people want a beautiful and glorious Christ. They want a king. They want someone to trash their enemies. Instead we have a Christ who confronts us with our own sins and makes us to look upon ourselves and examine our own hearts. This is the real Christ. The real Christ is about sin. He is about showing us that we need to repent of our sins. He is about suffering as payment for our sins. We see the true Christ in the crucifix. We see the true Christ in His suffering and death. And it is precisely Christ’s suffering and death that become ours in Baptism. So how do we know that we’ve identified the right Christ? By looking to His suffering, by seeing the wounds of Christ. Then you know that you have true Christ, the One truly sent by God the Father.
Amen!
The Second Sunday in Lent
March 7-8, 2009
Text: Mark 8:27-38
Dear Friends in Christ,
One of the most important skills for a pilot in war time is enemy identification. Pilots would spend hours memorizing the shape and appearance of enemy aircraft and ships. My father, as a student during World War II, had to memorize the silhouette books of enemy aircraft, just as part of his civil defense training. Often times, such identification was about remembering little details. An American aircraft might look just like an enemy aircraft, except for the shape of the tail or tip of the wing, or some such thing. What would happen if a pilot couldn’t correctly identify the enemy? He might shoot at the his own aircraft or ships or he might not shoot at the enemy. Both are equally problematic.
Identifying friend and foe are equally important in matters of religion. Many people turned away from Christ. They said He was a devil or possessed of a devil. Many were offended by the fact that He poked fun at the Pharisees. Yet, when Christ confronted the disciples how did they answer? They pointed to those believed that He was indeed from God. Christ pressed them and Peter, answering for the twelve stated that He was the Christ, God’s anointed One. By this Peter was saying that Jesus was the One promised in the Old Testament. But this does not mean that Peter understood the Old Testament. In fact we see this clearly, in the verses that follow. Christ speaks of His suffering. This was already laid out in Isaiah 52-53 where there is a long discourse on the suffering of the Christ. We might recall: “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” But Peter, apparently didn’t make the connection. So when Christ speaks of how He will fulfill these words of Isaiah, Peter is offended. And we can safely assume that he was not alone in this. Peter objects to a suffering Christ. Christ tells him: Get behind Me Satan.
Many today have trouble with a suffering Christ. Atheist Richard Dawkins, calls the concept of God the Son being sent by God the Father to die for the sins of the world, divine child abuse. Even many within the Church have trouble with a suffering Christ. Why are there so many preachers of self righteousness? Because if we can earn own way into heaven, we don’t have to talk about a suffering Christ. You see, Christ’s suffering convicts us. If Christ had to suffer, then we must be sinners. The whole movement of popular evangelicalism and contemporary worship is all about not talking about sin, death and a suffering Christ. The Christ that they would make up is on one hand a new Moses, giving a new and greater law, which we must fulfill. On the other, He is spineless mush and doesn’t condemn anyone. The suffering Christ is anathema to them.
But what happens in our Baptism? Precisely what St. Paul says, we are baptized into the death of Jesus Christ. We are united to His suffering. Even though this is plainly taught by St. Paul in Romans 6, most American Christians miss this point and thus also reject it. The whole point of making Baptism about our obedience, as most American Christians do, is to avoid a suffering Jesus.
Why do some Christians object to the Crucifix? We might hear things like Christ is risen, He’s no longer on the cross. But that’s not the real reason. The real reason is that the crucifix confronts us with a suffering Christ, a Christ Who died for us. In this way the crucifix convicts us of our sins. For if we had not sinned, Christ wouldn’t have had to suffer death on the cross.
So how do we know we have the right Christ? We have correctly identified the right Christ, when we are looking upon the One who suffers and dies. It’s that simple. That’s our key to identifying Christ. When people come to you and show a Christ who isn’t first and foremost the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, they are showing you a false Christ. For the true Christ is One who suffers.
Today we have a continuation of the old Jewish heresy. The Jews believed in a messiah who would come and trash their enemies. It’s really the same messianic vision that the Muslim’s have today. But many Christians buy into this as well, with all this talk of Christ establishing a kingdom here on earth and the like. We see this laid out in things like the “Left Behind” books. But then Christ’s death would be a mistake - not the center of all time. Rather, what Scripture tells us is that Christ rules forever already. He has no need of an earthly kingdom. In fact the nations of this earth rise and fall at His speaking. There is no authority upon this earth apart from what Christ gives. Christ gives that authority to men to bless or to punish, as He sees fit in His eternal wisdom. So we might say, why would Christ give authority to Sadam Hussain? Christ often uses evil men to punish evil. Notice in turn how such men are themselves brought down. So if Christ establishes the earthly governments, then He already rules this earth and has no need to come back to rule. Rather, we know from scripture that Christ will return to call this world to it’s end.
When we get to heaven, how will we know Christ? He’ll be the glorious one, right? Well, everyone heaven will shine with glory. No, we will know Christ because He’s one with wounds. And for us who see Christ as the suffering One, those wounds are the most beautiful thing in all of heaven. Because we know that by those wounds, we are healed of sin and death.
It is crucial for us to be able to correctly identify Christ. Many people want a beautiful and glorious Christ. They want a king. They want someone to trash their enemies. Instead we have a Christ who confronts us with our own sins and makes us to look upon ourselves and examine our own hearts. This is the real Christ. The real Christ is about sin. He is about showing us that we need to repent of our sins. He is about suffering as payment for our sins. We see the true Christ in the crucifix. We see the true Christ in His suffering and death. And it is precisely Christ’s suffering and death that become ours in Baptism. So how do we know that we’ve identified the right Christ? By looking to His suffering, by seeing the wounds of Christ. Then you know that you have true Christ, the One truly sent by God the Father.
Amen!
Sermon for March 3-4
Sermon
The Second Midweek in Lent
March 3-4, 2009
Text: Exodus 20:12
Dear Friends in Christ,
As we resume our series on the Ten Commandments, it is perhaps important to consider what we have learned in First Table of the Law. All sins are violations of the First Commandment. We sin because we do not fear, love and trust in God above all things. Second, the law serves a threefold purpose. But the purpose that is always of most concern to us is the second use of the law - that is the law as a mirror to show us our sins.
The Ten Commandments, as we have often noted, don’t naturally fit into ten comments. Organizing them into Ten Commands is structure that has been imposed upon Exodus 20. This why there are several different versions of the Ten Commandments. They’re all taken from Exodus 20 and simply organized in different ways. But early on there was also a twofold organization of the law. Christ even acknowledges this when He quotes a verse from Deuteronomy that had become the Rabbinic summary of the law - Love the Lord your God will all your mind, all heart and all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. So the first half of the law, which we considered in Advent is about our relationship with God. The second half, which we will now consider, is about relationship with our fellow man.
The Fourth Commandment is normally placed in the second table of the Law, but it really serves as a transition. For it is the house father that is to see that his children are brought up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. The father in particular acts as God’s representative in the home. He is to be a mirror of our heavenly Father. It is well that we make note of the fact that children who are abused by their earthly fathers often have a hard time trusting in God the Father.
What is it that we are commanded in the Fourth Commandment. We are to obey our parents, right? No. That’s that what is says. We are to honor our parents and this also then extends to other authorities. A school teacher acts in loco parentes - that is in place of the parent. Kings historically presented themselves as the father of their nation and called their subjects their children. But lets get back to the verb, that is the action here. We are to honor them. What does that mean? It’s a little more slippery and a little harder to quantify.
Consider this rather horrific example. A father has a teenage son and daughter. He commands the son to have sexual relations with his sister. Now, how do these two children honor their father? By refusing to obey him. If necessary by calling the police or other authorities to intervene. One might say how is having your own father carted off to jail honoring him? But it is when it is preventing some evil. Honor is about doing what is good and right. Many times, for children, it means to obey. But regardless of everything else, one honors their father and mother when they do that which is right.
Even as adults, we are bring honor to our parents. We are live our lives in such a way that it bring credit and praise to our parents. Nor does this end when our parents die. We honor their memory by continuing to do right. This extends even to how our parents are treated in death. Do we make certain that they have a proper funeral? Do we make certain their grave is proper marked and tended, and so forth? One of the scourges of a mobile society is that many people no longer live in the communities where their parents are buried. In these things we honor our parents.
What about matters of religion? What if our parents, particularly our fathers were rank unbelievers? First that we must say that they clung to that which is false. Honoring our parents is never about rewriting the past. So we must be honest. But then we, who know the truth of Jesus Christ, cling that truth. Though our parents might not think this is honoring them, it is. It is honoring them because we are clinging to the truth of God’s Word. You see honoring someone is not about what they feel, emotionally, is an honor. It is an objective thing. You are objectively bringing honor to their name. So a Christian who is the child of rank unbelievers fulfills the Fourth Commandment by remaining a faithful believer.
As in all the Commandments, the Fourth Commandment is an expression of God’s will for our lives. We show love for God and our parents by bringing honor to their name. But we also understand that no matter how hard we seek to do this, we will always fall short. We can never do perfectly, with a perfect hart, all that is required of us. The best we can do is a superficial, outward fulfillment. When we see this, the Fourth Commandment has become God’s mirror showing us our sins. Only Christ fulfills the law perfectly. He did that in our place. In the cross, He makes His obedience our obedience. And so for us, The Fourth Commandment, as well as all the comments, makes us flee to the cross. For there our sins were covered.
Amen!
The Second Midweek in Lent
March 3-4, 2009
Text: Exodus 20:12
Dear Friends in Christ,
As we resume our series on the Ten Commandments, it is perhaps important to consider what we have learned in First Table of the Law. All sins are violations of the First Commandment. We sin because we do not fear, love and trust in God above all things. Second, the law serves a threefold purpose. But the purpose that is always of most concern to us is the second use of the law - that is the law as a mirror to show us our sins.
The Ten Commandments, as we have often noted, don’t naturally fit into ten comments. Organizing them into Ten Commands is structure that has been imposed upon Exodus 20. This why there are several different versions of the Ten Commandments. They’re all taken from Exodus 20 and simply organized in different ways. But early on there was also a twofold organization of the law. Christ even acknowledges this when He quotes a verse from Deuteronomy that had become the Rabbinic summary of the law - Love the Lord your God will all your mind, all heart and all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. So the first half of the law, which we considered in Advent is about our relationship with God. The second half, which we will now consider, is about relationship with our fellow man.
The Fourth Commandment is normally placed in the second table of the Law, but it really serves as a transition. For it is the house father that is to see that his children are brought up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. The father in particular acts as God’s representative in the home. He is to be a mirror of our heavenly Father. It is well that we make note of the fact that children who are abused by their earthly fathers often have a hard time trusting in God the Father.
What is it that we are commanded in the Fourth Commandment. We are to obey our parents, right? No. That’s that what is says. We are to honor our parents and this also then extends to other authorities. A school teacher acts in loco parentes - that is in place of the parent. Kings historically presented themselves as the father of their nation and called their subjects their children. But lets get back to the verb, that is the action here. We are to honor them. What does that mean? It’s a little more slippery and a little harder to quantify.
Consider this rather horrific example. A father has a teenage son and daughter. He commands the son to have sexual relations with his sister. Now, how do these two children honor their father? By refusing to obey him. If necessary by calling the police or other authorities to intervene. One might say how is having your own father carted off to jail honoring him? But it is when it is preventing some evil. Honor is about doing what is good and right. Many times, for children, it means to obey. But regardless of everything else, one honors their father and mother when they do that which is right.
Even as adults, we are bring honor to our parents. We are live our lives in such a way that it bring credit and praise to our parents. Nor does this end when our parents die. We honor their memory by continuing to do right. This extends even to how our parents are treated in death. Do we make certain that they have a proper funeral? Do we make certain their grave is proper marked and tended, and so forth? One of the scourges of a mobile society is that many people no longer live in the communities where their parents are buried. In these things we honor our parents.
What about matters of religion? What if our parents, particularly our fathers were rank unbelievers? First that we must say that they clung to that which is false. Honoring our parents is never about rewriting the past. So we must be honest. But then we, who know the truth of Jesus Christ, cling that truth. Though our parents might not think this is honoring them, it is. It is honoring them because we are clinging to the truth of God’s Word. You see honoring someone is not about what they feel, emotionally, is an honor. It is an objective thing. You are objectively bringing honor to their name. So a Christian who is the child of rank unbelievers fulfills the Fourth Commandment by remaining a faithful believer.
As in all the Commandments, the Fourth Commandment is an expression of God’s will for our lives. We show love for God and our parents by bringing honor to their name. But we also understand that no matter how hard we seek to do this, we will always fall short. We can never do perfectly, with a perfect hart, all that is required of us. The best we can do is a superficial, outward fulfillment. When we see this, the Fourth Commandment has become God’s mirror showing us our sins. Only Christ fulfills the law perfectly. He did that in our place. In the cross, He makes His obedience our obedience. And so for us, The Fourth Commandment, as well as all the comments, makes us flee to the cross. For there our sins were covered.
Amen!
Sermon for February 28-March 1
Sermon
The First Sunday in Lent
February 28-March 1, 2009
Text: Mark 1:9-15
Dear Friends in Christ,
Most of the time, people think of war as a bad thing. But that’s not always the case. Most wars in human history have been fought over the foolish ambitions of men. It is true that there are men who are possessed of a constant lust for power over other people. Some might even suggest that such people are in Washington today. To fight a war over such foolish human lusts is indeed a bad thing. But then this is hardly new. Sometimes the lust for power is even literal lust. For in one of the oldest all war epics, Paris kidnaped Helen of Sparta, which started the Trojan War. However, we must recognize that war is not always a bad thing. If it is a war to stand up against tyranny and the power lust of men, then it is indeed a good thing. So for those who fought against Troy and Paris’ treachery, the were doing a good thing by fighting. Consider the injustice that they would have allowed had they not fought the war. And so we can go throughout history. Sometimes it is clear that a particular war was fought over foolishness and all sides have blood on their hands. This would be the case, I think, with Word War I. And one has to wonder if in fact the Yugoslavian civil war of recent years was not, in fact, God’s vengeance upon that nation for starting World War I. Other wars are more clear. Certainly stopping Nazi Germany was a good and righteous cause. However, General Patton, I believe, was correct in that we should have kept going and taken out the Soviet Union as well. That would have been an even better and more and righteous cause. For indeed, we know that for every atrocity committed by Hitler, Stalin did the same, times ten. Think of all the suffering and injustice in the world we would have prevented if we had done so. As sinful human beings, just as often as we fight foolish wars, we fail to fight just ones that we ought to fight.
Christ fought a war. He fought a just war against a vile, lying oppressor. It was a war of liberation. That oppressor was Satan. It is a war He didn’t have to fight, but one which He chose to fight. It is much the same as a nation which intervenes in a war when they see that one side is in the right the other in the wrong. Christ intervened to rescue a people oppressed by sin and death. Sin and death are Satan’s tools of oppression. He would hold us in bondage to sin and death forever. Christ stepped onto the battlefield with His temptation. He took over the battle and began to fight in our place. It was a battle we could not win. We were totally defeated. But Christ, our maker and redeemer defeats Satan on our behalf.
Traditionally, we’ve looked at the temptation either through Matthew or Luke. It does not appear at all in John’s gospel and is a scant two verses in Mark. But we should not overlook those two verses or the context in which they appear. Matthew and Luke give us the story, but Mark, more clearly than the other two, places these events into the framework of Christ’s ministry. When did this happen? Immediately after Christ’s baptism. The Holy Spirit drives Christ out into the wilderness. Why? Precisely so that Satan can attack Him. This is the challenge. Christ is going to Satan and challenging Him. He’s throwing down the gauntlet. He is declaring to Satan that he has no power over the Son of Man. But notice the connection. Christ’s victory in the desert is connected to His baptism. By this Christ is also connecting His victory back to baptism. When we are baptized, Christ’s victory over Satan in the desert becomes our victory.
Now, we must make an important point here. All theology has it’s origins in the Old Testament. The New Testament does not occur in a vacuum. Nor does the New Testament teach anything new. Further, real depth of understanding the New Testament comes from the Old Testament. This is why the Australian theologian John Kleinig can start a lecture at Mount Sinai, and within an hour take you through the whole of the gospels, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews and Revelation.
For us to understand Christ’s temptation, we must understand the fall of man into sin and the effects of that fall. Christ becomes our substitute and does what Adam failed to do - that is tell Satan to go to hell. Satan and his minions are the ones you need to tell to go to hell. Adam failed to do that. We fail to do that. But Christ did not fail to tell Satan where to go. What was the effect of man’s failure. Man was driven from the Garden of Eden, and driven away from the Tree of Life. A flaming sword was put in place to block our access to the tree of life. That flaming sword has never been put out. It will never be put out. It will remain in place for all eternity. Yet, for some it is put out. When an unbaptized person approaches the tree of life, the flaming sword still blocks the way. We don’t see it. But it’s still there. In Baptism, that person is united to Christ’s victory over Satan. In Baptism, each person becomes Christ telling Satan where to go. And that flaming sword is plunged into the font. Baptism opens the way for us to the tree of life. It does that because it unites us to Christ in the desert battling Satan on our behalf.
This idea of Baptism quenching the flaming sword was well understood by the ancient fathers. We have for example a quote of the Venerable Bede in the seventh century. It is still well understood today by Lutheran, Catholic and Orthodox Christians. But this would be offensive to most American Protestants. This is because most American Protestants deny that God does anything in Baptism. Most American Protestants would reject every single word the Small Catechism says about Baptism. In so doing they are denying God’s most precious gift to us.
Part of the problem is that most people today don’t understand what the tree of life even looks like. The tree of life is not beautiful in an earthly sense. It doesn’t even appear alive. It appears to be old, dead wood. In fact old, dead wood covered with blood and gore. The tree of life is the Cross of Jesus Christ. Christ by defeating Satan in our place, out in the desert, dying for sins on the cross and making these things ours in baptism, is indeed quenching the flaming sword and opening the way to the tree of life. Though that tree might look dead, from it flows the life giving water of baptism and the life giving blood of the Supper.
Many people think war is a bad thing. But it is indeed good, right and salutary to fight for that which is good and right. Christ fought such a war on our behalf, against Satan. He defeated Satan on our behalf out in the desert. He applies that victory to us in Baptism. He uses Baptism to quench the flaming sword that blocks the way to the tree of life - that is His cross by which we were saved.
Amen!
The First Sunday in Lent
February 28-March 1, 2009
Text: Mark 1:9-15
Dear Friends in Christ,
Most of the time, people think of war as a bad thing. But that’s not always the case. Most wars in human history have been fought over the foolish ambitions of men. It is true that there are men who are possessed of a constant lust for power over other people. Some might even suggest that such people are in Washington today. To fight a war over such foolish human lusts is indeed a bad thing. But then this is hardly new. Sometimes the lust for power is even literal lust. For in one of the oldest all war epics, Paris kidnaped Helen of Sparta, which started the Trojan War. However, we must recognize that war is not always a bad thing. If it is a war to stand up against tyranny and the power lust of men, then it is indeed a good thing. So for those who fought against Troy and Paris’ treachery, the were doing a good thing by fighting. Consider the injustice that they would have allowed had they not fought the war. And so we can go throughout history. Sometimes it is clear that a particular war was fought over foolishness and all sides have blood on their hands. This would be the case, I think, with Word War I. And one has to wonder if in fact the Yugoslavian civil war of recent years was not, in fact, God’s vengeance upon that nation for starting World War I. Other wars are more clear. Certainly stopping Nazi Germany was a good and righteous cause. However, General Patton, I believe, was correct in that we should have kept going and taken out the Soviet Union as well. That would have been an even better and more and righteous cause. For indeed, we know that for every atrocity committed by Hitler, Stalin did the same, times ten. Think of all the suffering and injustice in the world we would have prevented if we had done so. As sinful human beings, just as often as we fight foolish wars, we fail to fight just ones that we ought to fight.
Christ fought a war. He fought a just war against a vile, lying oppressor. It was a war of liberation. That oppressor was Satan. It is a war He didn’t have to fight, but one which He chose to fight. It is much the same as a nation which intervenes in a war when they see that one side is in the right the other in the wrong. Christ intervened to rescue a people oppressed by sin and death. Sin and death are Satan’s tools of oppression. He would hold us in bondage to sin and death forever. Christ stepped onto the battlefield with His temptation. He took over the battle and began to fight in our place. It was a battle we could not win. We were totally defeated. But Christ, our maker and redeemer defeats Satan on our behalf.
Traditionally, we’ve looked at the temptation either through Matthew or Luke. It does not appear at all in John’s gospel and is a scant two verses in Mark. But we should not overlook those two verses or the context in which they appear. Matthew and Luke give us the story, but Mark, more clearly than the other two, places these events into the framework of Christ’s ministry. When did this happen? Immediately after Christ’s baptism. The Holy Spirit drives Christ out into the wilderness. Why? Precisely so that Satan can attack Him. This is the challenge. Christ is going to Satan and challenging Him. He’s throwing down the gauntlet. He is declaring to Satan that he has no power over the Son of Man. But notice the connection. Christ’s victory in the desert is connected to His baptism. By this Christ is also connecting His victory back to baptism. When we are baptized, Christ’s victory over Satan in the desert becomes our victory.
Now, we must make an important point here. All theology has it’s origins in the Old Testament. The New Testament does not occur in a vacuum. Nor does the New Testament teach anything new. Further, real depth of understanding the New Testament comes from the Old Testament. This is why the Australian theologian John Kleinig can start a lecture at Mount Sinai, and within an hour take you through the whole of the gospels, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews and Revelation.
For us to understand Christ’s temptation, we must understand the fall of man into sin and the effects of that fall. Christ becomes our substitute and does what Adam failed to do - that is tell Satan to go to hell. Satan and his minions are the ones you need to tell to go to hell. Adam failed to do that. We fail to do that. But Christ did not fail to tell Satan where to go. What was the effect of man’s failure. Man was driven from the Garden of Eden, and driven away from the Tree of Life. A flaming sword was put in place to block our access to the tree of life. That flaming sword has never been put out. It will never be put out. It will remain in place for all eternity. Yet, for some it is put out. When an unbaptized person approaches the tree of life, the flaming sword still blocks the way. We don’t see it. But it’s still there. In Baptism, that person is united to Christ’s victory over Satan. In Baptism, each person becomes Christ telling Satan where to go. And that flaming sword is plunged into the font. Baptism opens the way for us to the tree of life. It does that because it unites us to Christ in the desert battling Satan on our behalf.
This idea of Baptism quenching the flaming sword was well understood by the ancient fathers. We have for example a quote of the Venerable Bede in the seventh century. It is still well understood today by Lutheran, Catholic and Orthodox Christians. But this would be offensive to most American Protestants. This is because most American Protestants deny that God does anything in Baptism. Most American Protestants would reject every single word the Small Catechism says about Baptism. In so doing they are denying God’s most precious gift to us.
Part of the problem is that most people today don’t understand what the tree of life even looks like. The tree of life is not beautiful in an earthly sense. It doesn’t even appear alive. It appears to be old, dead wood. In fact old, dead wood covered with blood and gore. The tree of life is the Cross of Jesus Christ. Christ by defeating Satan in our place, out in the desert, dying for sins on the cross and making these things ours in baptism, is indeed quenching the flaming sword and opening the way to the tree of life. Though that tree might look dead, from it flows the life giving water of baptism and the life giving blood of the Supper.
Many people think war is a bad thing. But it is indeed good, right and salutary to fight for that which is good and right. Christ fought such a war on our behalf, against Satan. He defeated Satan on our behalf out in the desert. He applies that victory to us in Baptism. He uses Baptism to quench the flaming sword that blocks the way to the tree of life - that is His cross by which we were saved.
Amen!
Sermon for February 24-25
Sermon
Ash Wednesday
February 24-25, 2009
Text: Joel 2:12-19
Dear Friends in Christ,
For many years, the popular culture has said that life is one big party. When I was in Seminary, Bobby McFarren was singing, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Now McFarren, who is a conservative Anglican, has a valid and Christian point about trusting in God to give us what we need. But I think that went over most people’s heads. An earlier generation we had Guy Lombardo’s Royal Canadians performing “Enjoy Yourself, It’s Later Than You Think.” And again there is a valid point, warning us to not to get so consumed with making money that lose out on the joy’s of life. But here too, I don’t think most people thought too deeply on the words. For many people in this nation, the moto is “let’s party.” Why do you think we have so many taverns? How many people just stumble through the week to get to Friday so that they can go out and get blitzed? Sadly, I know quite a few. I’m pretty certain that you do too. And what does this group in our nation demand? No consequences. No, I should never get pulled over for drunk driving. Birth control should be readily available so that I can have sex with no risk of a baby and if the girl get’s pregnant we must have abortion. There can be no consequences. And all forms of venereal disease must be eliminated. The clap puts a damper on the party after all.
In our day this attitude has filtered into the church as well. Pastor, don’t talk about sin, it’s such a downer. After all God is love, isn’t He. He wouldn’t really send anyone to hell? Would He? Let’s not talk about all that stuff and just party on. The problem is that the god of the party church is one that they’ve made up in their own heads. He doesn’t really exist. Further, such a God is unjust. Is it right that Hitler and Stalin are in heaven with the faithful Christians - many of whom they killed in this life? Dealing with God has always been a serious business. Those who would make it something less than this, are busy inventing their own god and their own religion. The gathering of Christians is termed throughout Scripture a solemn assembly. That’s even in the time of rejoicing and the thanksgiving. Christians gather in solemn assembly to thank God and offer His praises. This is Our King’s court. It is not a place for flippant and trite displays. This is doubly so for times of penitence. We must remember that God owes us nothing. He can just cast us off and have nothing to do with us if He chooses. We are beggars. We are coming before the greatest king of all, begging for His grace and mercy. He owes us nothing. We are counting on His good will. That is a serious thing indeed.
One of the traditional texts about repentance is found in the writings of the prophet Joel. Joel makes it clear that seeking God’s favor is a serious and solemn thing. But it is not just the outward form that must be correct. Even more important than this, is our hearts. Joel tells us to rend our hearts and not our garments. Christianity and Judaism before it are unique in the way that they view our moral actions. Most cultures in the history of the world are shame cultures. If I don’t get caught, it’s not wrong. But God does know. He knows everything. He knows about sins we’ve committed that we don’t even know about. Christianity is not a shame culture. It’s a guilt culture. We understand that even if no one else knows, God does know. And in the end, God is the One to Whom we must give account for our lives.
We call a solemn assembly to beg for grace and mercy because before God we have no hope. We cannot please God. We’re sunk before we even start. If we try to justify ourselves before God, we will only end up proving our own guilt. So we rend our hearts and come before our King, because that is our only hope, our only chance. Every human being stands condemned before God. Some only dig the hole deeper. Scripture is clear that hell has more than one level. We just don’t know how it all works and how God’s judgement will sort this out. But Scripture leaves us the impression that the sins that anger God the most are those of self justification. It appears that He may be gentler with those who glory in their sins, than He is toward the self-righteous. Remember that He judges not just our actions but our hearts, first and foremost. So in the end all we can do is throw ourselves upon the mercy of the court. One does not do this flippantly or tritely. We must remember that eternity is at stake here. That’s a very long time.
God is not cruel, nor does He take pleasure in seeing people grovel. He is not like some cruel earthly kings who make people beg for their lives and then kill them anyway. Rather, He is gracious and merciful. He promises, in His Son Jesus Christ, to deal with according to the blood of Christ, which was shed for us. And so we go before our King’s throne with perfect hope. Yes, we go as beggars. But we go with the assurance that God’s mercy is there for us. So yes, indeed, blow the trumpet in Zion. Gather the people. Call a solemn assembly. Leave whatever we are doing. Gather before the King’s throne. Plead for His mercy. Plead the cross of Jesus Christ. This coin, the cross, the Judge will accept. This coin, the cross, does pay for our sins. And when we plead the cross, we know that God will relent and not bring us to disaster. Of this we can be certain.
Amen!
Ash Wednesday
February 24-25, 2009
Text: Joel 2:12-19
Dear Friends in Christ,
For many years, the popular culture has said that life is one big party. When I was in Seminary, Bobby McFarren was singing, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Now McFarren, who is a conservative Anglican, has a valid and Christian point about trusting in God to give us what we need. But I think that went over most people’s heads. An earlier generation we had Guy Lombardo’s Royal Canadians performing “Enjoy Yourself, It’s Later Than You Think.” And again there is a valid point, warning us to not to get so consumed with making money that lose out on the joy’s of life. But here too, I don’t think most people thought too deeply on the words. For many people in this nation, the moto is “let’s party.” Why do you think we have so many taverns? How many people just stumble through the week to get to Friday so that they can go out and get blitzed? Sadly, I know quite a few. I’m pretty certain that you do too. And what does this group in our nation demand? No consequences. No, I should never get pulled over for drunk driving. Birth control should be readily available so that I can have sex with no risk of a baby and if the girl get’s pregnant we must have abortion. There can be no consequences. And all forms of venereal disease must be eliminated. The clap puts a damper on the party after all.
In our day this attitude has filtered into the church as well. Pastor, don’t talk about sin, it’s such a downer. After all God is love, isn’t He. He wouldn’t really send anyone to hell? Would He? Let’s not talk about all that stuff and just party on. The problem is that the god of the party church is one that they’ve made up in their own heads. He doesn’t really exist. Further, such a God is unjust. Is it right that Hitler and Stalin are in heaven with the faithful Christians - many of whom they killed in this life? Dealing with God has always been a serious business. Those who would make it something less than this, are busy inventing their own god and their own religion. The gathering of Christians is termed throughout Scripture a solemn assembly. That’s even in the time of rejoicing and the thanksgiving. Christians gather in solemn assembly to thank God and offer His praises. This is Our King’s court. It is not a place for flippant and trite displays. This is doubly so for times of penitence. We must remember that God owes us nothing. He can just cast us off and have nothing to do with us if He chooses. We are beggars. We are coming before the greatest king of all, begging for His grace and mercy. He owes us nothing. We are counting on His good will. That is a serious thing indeed.
One of the traditional texts about repentance is found in the writings of the prophet Joel. Joel makes it clear that seeking God’s favor is a serious and solemn thing. But it is not just the outward form that must be correct. Even more important than this, is our hearts. Joel tells us to rend our hearts and not our garments. Christianity and Judaism before it are unique in the way that they view our moral actions. Most cultures in the history of the world are shame cultures. If I don’t get caught, it’s not wrong. But God does know. He knows everything. He knows about sins we’ve committed that we don’t even know about. Christianity is not a shame culture. It’s a guilt culture. We understand that even if no one else knows, God does know. And in the end, God is the One to Whom we must give account for our lives.
We call a solemn assembly to beg for grace and mercy because before God we have no hope. We cannot please God. We’re sunk before we even start. If we try to justify ourselves before God, we will only end up proving our own guilt. So we rend our hearts and come before our King, because that is our only hope, our only chance. Every human being stands condemned before God. Some only dig the hole deeper. Scripture is clear that hell has more than one level. We just don’t know how it all works and how God’s judgement will sort this out. But Scripture leaves us the impression that the sins that anger God the most are those of self justification. It appears that He may be gentler with those who glory in their sins, than He is toward the self-righteous. Remember that He judges not just our actions but our hearts, first and foremost. So in the end all we can do is throw ourselves upon the mercy of the court. One does not do this flippantly or tritely. We must remember that eternity is at stake here. That’s a very long time.
God is not cruel, nor does He take pleasure in seeing people grovel. He is not like some cruel earthly kings who make people beg for their lives and then kill them anyway. Rather, He is gracious and merciful. He promises, in His Son Jesus Christ, to deal with according to the blood of Christ, which was shed for us. And so we go before our King’s throne with perfect hope. Yes, we go as beggars. But we go with the assurance that God’s mercy is there for us. So yes, indeed, blow the trumpet in Zion. Gather the people. Call a solemn assembly. Leave whatever we are doing. Gather before the King’s throne. Plead for His mercy. Plead the cross of Jesus Christ. This coin, the cross, the Judge will accept. This coin, the cross, does pay for our sins. And when we plead the cross, we know that God will relent and not bring us to disaster. Of this we can be certain.
Amen!
Sermon for February 21-22
Sermon
The Last Sunday After the Epiphany - the Transfiguration of Christ
February 21-22, 2009
Text: Mark 9:2-9
Dear Friends in Christ,
Years ago they had various game shows. Some of them featured options to trade for whatever was behind the curtain. I remember this on both “Truth or Consequences” and “Let’s Make a Deal”. The problem was that you didn’t know what was behind the curtain. It might be a fabulous prize, like a new car or a trip to a fabulous location. But it might be a booby prize, like a can of Spam or a kazoo. And you were never quite certain until you made your decision and got to see what was there. So it was always a mystery. In the temple in Jerusalem there was also a curtain. What was behind it? That was a big question because on the high priest was allowed behind the curtain - and he only went in there once a year on Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement. It was a dark and fearful place. In fact it was so feared that they tied a rope around the ankle of the high priest so that if he should die while he was in there, they could pull his dead body out. One man dare to go behind the curtain. He was the Roman general Pompey. When he took control of Jerusalem, Pompey was determined to see the image of the Jewish God. He assumed that behind that curtain would be an idle. It was rumored to be in the form of a donkey - which would then explain why the Jewish people were so stubborn. It is said that Pompey came out from behind the curtain, white as a sheet. So what was behind the curtain? God. It was that simple. Pompey understood this. That was why, when he saw no idol, he became terrified. It meant that the Jewish God could not be rendered as an idol. He had no image. Pompey also understood that this meant that this was a God greater than Roman gods. It was something Pompey could not accept, but he was confronted with the reality of what was behind the curtain.
Americans have a hard time with the true concept of holiness. We don’t grasp in any real practical sense what it means for God to holy. Holiness is a dangerous thing. We are not holy. We are sinner, lost and damned by our own power. We have no means of making ourselves holy. We are unholy people, from an unholy nation, who speak with unholy lips. Yet, God is holy. Part of being holy is hating sin and those who do it. We see this in our world. Only it takes something really bad to get us to hate. Do you hate child molesters? Sure we do. Is that wrong? No. They do evil things. Do we hate Nazis. Sure we do. We remember the evil that they did, how they murdered Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and those Christians who dared to stand up against their evil. And so we rightly hate Nazis. Do we hate Communists? We see how they crushed people’s spirits. We see how they attacked the Church. We see the Gulag Archipelago - their brutal concentration camps where twenty million or more people died. And so we rightly hate these things. The problem is that we, corrupted as we are, see the gross sins. We must see that God hates all sin. That’s what it means to be holy.
Holiness is a dangerous thing. Through the trek from Egypt, we see time and time again how God lashed out at Israelites. Fire exploded from the altar and killed some. The ground opened up and swallowed some. Some were plagued by poisonous snakes. Now, here’s the kicker. Which person of the Trinity did these things? God the Son. It is God the Son who is present with man. It is God the Son deals with us. It is God the Son who spoke from Mount Sinai. It was God the Son who took up residence in the tabernacle and later the temple. So who was behind the curtain? God the Son - that is Jesus Christ. And why the curtain? Because God is holy and we are not. If God is present among us without the curtain, we unholy sinners are directly exposed to the holiness of God. Bad things happen to sinners in the presence of God. This is why we are to fear God.
On the mount of Transfiguration, Christ, for a brief moment, pulled back the curtain. He let three of His disciples see what was being enclosed in the curtain of His flesh. He let them see into the Holy of Holies. What is their reaction? About the same reaction we’d have if we suddenly founding ourselves standing in the middle of an unshielded nuclear reactor. They were terrified. They didn’t know what to do. Nor were these men theologically trained. Isaiah, trained as a priest, understood the implications of seeing Christ. He cried out I am undone. But these fishermen, they didn’t have a clue. Peter, finally says that they should build three tabernacles. That is the word we should use here. Not three tents, not three shelters. Three tabernacles. Why? Because a tabernacle is a house for God. Peter understood that they could not remain as they were. A shield had to be set up so that they didn’t have to continue to endure the holy presence of God. Indeed, at the time of Moses, that’s what they did. But blundering Peter, still doesn’t get it right. St. Jerome explains: “Do not set up tents equally for the Lord and servants. ‘This is My beloved Son, not Moses or Elijah. They are servants; this is the Son, of My nature, of My substance, abiding in Me, and He is all that I am. This is My beloved Son. They too, indeed are dear to Me, but He is my beloved; hear Him, therefore. He is the Lord and master, they are companions in service. Moses and Elijah speak of Christ; they are your fellow servants. He is the Lord; hear Him.” Peter does not yet understand, at the core of His being, the difference between the great prophets of old, and the Christ. He would give divine honor to the servants.
In the end of course, Peter could not build such tabernacle. Christ was already enclosed in the tabernacle which God the Father had made Him - human flesh. This becomes important to us because Christ, came in the flesh, came to be God among us. He came to be our substitute - to pay the price of our sins. Indeed we know from Luke’s gospel that Christ was discussing with Moses and Elijah how He was about to go to Jerusalem, die for the sins of the world, rise from the dead, and ascend back to heaven. This glimpse behind the curtain marks the time when Christ now turns to His final task. Soon an even great glory would be revealed in the cross. For in the end it is the cross that is the greatest glory of all. It is so incredible that even the angels are stunned at what our holy God did for us poor miserable sinners.
On the mount of Transfiguration Christ gives a glimpse behind the temple curtain. He shows what it really means to be the presence of God. It is a terrifying thing. We are all much happier not seeing the full glory and holiness of God revealed. Yet, Christ remains among us, still veiled and curtained in His flesh. For the New Testament Church the Holy of Holies is now found the Lord’s Supper. Here is where we now go into the temple and go behind the curtain. The Supper is a most holy thing. It is healthy to have a fear of the supper. But we must also understand that He comes to in the mask of his of His flesh precisely because this the mask under which He paid for our sins. So holy yes, but also given to us to make us holy. For apart from the action of God, we are sinners. In Christ we become holy and sinless. But we also know the that the day will come when we will see Christ as the three disciples did. That will be in the resurrection of all flesh at the end of time. It will be a terrifying thing. But we know, even in our terror, that we can stand there in Christ’s holiness. We have been made holy by His body and blood. For us who have been made holy, Christ needs no tabernacle. He has made us His brothers. We can stand before Him forever. Amen!
The Last Sunday After the Epiphany - the Transfiguration of Christ
February 21-22, 2009
Text: Mark 9:2-9
Dear Friends in Christ,
Years ago they had various game shows. Some of them featured options to trade for whatever was behind the curtain. I remember this on both “Truth or Consequences” and “Let’s Make a Deal”. The problem was that you didn’t know what was behind the curtain. It might be a fabulous prize, like a new car or a trip to a fabulous location. But it might be a booby prize, like a can of Spam or a kazoo. And you were never quite certain until you made your decision and got to see what was there. So it was always a mystery. In the temple in Jerusalem there was also a curtain. What was behind it? That was a big question because on the high priest was allowed behind the curtain - and he only went in there once a year on Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement. It was a dark and fearful place. In fact it was so feared that they tied a rope around the ankle of the high priest so that if he should die while he was in there, they could pull his dead body out. One man dare to go behind the curtain. He was the Roman general Pompey. When he took control of Jerusalem, Pompey was determined to see the image of the Jewish God. He assumed that behind that curtain would be an idle. It was rumored to be in the form of a donkey - which would then explain why the Jewish people were so stubborn. It is said that Pompey came out from behind the curtain, white as a sheet. So what was behind the curtain? God. It was that simple. Pompey understood this. That was why, when he saw no idol, he became terrified. It meant that the Jewish God could not be rendered as an idol. He had no image. Pompey also understood that this meant that this was a God greater than Roman gods. It was something Pompey could not accept, but he was confronted with the reality of what was behind the curtain.
Americans have a hard time with the true concept of holiness. We don’t grasp in any real practical sense what it means for God to holy. Holiness is a dangerous thing. We are not holy. We are sinner, lost and damned by our own power. We have no means of making ourselves holy. We are unholy people, from an unholy nation, who speak with unholy lips. Yet, God is holy. Part of being holy is hating sin and those who do it. We see this in our world. Only it takes something really bad to get us to hate. Do you hate child molesters? Sure we do. Is that wrong? No. They do evil things. Do we hate Nazis. Sure we do. We remember the evil that they did, how they murdered Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and those Christians who dared to stand up against their evil. And so we rightly hate Nazis. Do we hate Communists? We see how they crushed people’s spirits. We see how they attacked the Church. We see the Gulag Archipelago - their brutal concentration camps where twenty million or more people died. And so we rightly hate these things. The problem is that we, corrupted as we are, see the gross sins. We must see that God hates all sin. That’s what it means to be holy.
Holiness is a dangerous thing. Through the trek from Egypt, we see time and time again how God lashed out at Israelites. Fire exploded from the altar and killed some. The ground opened up and swallowed some. Some were plagued by poisonous snakes. Now, here’s the kicker. Which person of the Trinity did these things? God the Son. It is God the Son who is present with man. It is God the Son deals with us. It is God the Son who spoke from Mount Sinai. It was God the Son who took up residence in the tabernacle and later the temple. So who was behind the curtain? God the Son - that is Jesus Christ. And why the curtain? Because God is holy and we are not. If God is present among us without the curtain, we unholy sinners are directly exposed to the holiness of God. Bad things happen to sinners in the presence of God. This is why we are to fear God.
On the mount of Transfiguration, Christ, for a brief moment, pulled back the curtain. He let three of His disciples see what was being enclosed in the curtain of His flesh. He let them see into the Holy of Holies. What is their reaction? About the same reaction we’d have if we suddenly founding ourselves standing in the middle of an unshielded nuclear reactor. They were terrified. They didn’t know what to do. Nor were these men theologically trained. Isaiah, trained as a priest, understood the implications of seeing Christ. He cried out I am undone. But these fishermen, they didn’t have a clue. Peter, finally says that they should build three tabernacles. That is the word we should use here. Not three tents, not three shelters. Three tabernacles. Why? Because a tabernacle is a house for God. Peter understood that they could not remain as they were. A shield had to be set up so that they didn’t have to continue to endure the holy presence of God. Indeed, at the time of Moses, that’s what they did. But blundering Peter, still doesn’t get it right. St. Jerome explains: “Do not set up tents equally for the Lord and servants. ‘This is My beloved Son, not Moses or Elijah. They are servants; this is the Son, of My nature, of My substance, abiding in Me, and He is all that I am. This is My beloved Son. They too, indeed are dear to Me, but He is my beloved; hear Him, therefore. He is the Lord and master, they are companions in service. Moses and Elijah speak of Christ; they are your fellow servants. He is the Lord; hear Him.” Peter does not yet understand, at the core of His being, the difference between the great prophets of old, and the Christ. He would give divine honor to the servants.
In the end of course, Peter could not build such tabernacle. Christ was already enclosed in the tabernacle which God the Father had made Him - human flesh. This becomes important to us because Christ, came in the flesh, came to be God among us. He came to be our substitute - to pay the price of our sins. Indeed we know from Luke’s gospel that Christ was discussing with Moses and Elijah how He was about to go to Jerusalem, die for the sins of the world, rise from the dead, and ascend back to heaven. This glimpse behind the curtain marks the time when Christ now turns to His final task. Soon an even great glory would be revealed in the cross. For in the end it is the cross that is the greatest glory of all. It is so incredible that even the angels are stunned at what our holy God did for us poor miserable sinners.
On the mount of Transfiguration Christ gives a glimpse behind the temple curtain. He shows what it really means to be the presence of God. It is a terrifying thing. We are all much happier not seeing the full glory and holiness of God revealed. Yet, Christ remains among us, still veiled and curtained in His flesh. For the New Testament Church the Holy of Holies is now found the Lord’s Supper. Here is where we now go into the temple and go behind the curtain. The Supper is a most holy thing. It is healthy to have a fear of the supper. But we must also understand that He comes to in the mask of his of His flesh precisely because this the mask under which He paid for our sins. So holy yes, but also given to us to make us holy. For apart from the action of God, we are sinners. In Christ we become holy and sinless. But we also know the that the day will come when we will see Christ as the three disciples did. That will be in the resurrection of all flesh at the end of time. It will be a terrifying thing. But we know, even in our terror, that we can stand there in Christ’s holiness. We have been made holy by His body and blood. For us who have been made holy, Christ needs no tabernacle. He has made us His brothers. We can stand before Him forever. Amen!
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